“ad fontes!”
UK politics, 1962—to delay dealing with something, in the hope that it will be forgotten—from the image of sending a ball into the tall grass off the playing field during a sporting event, which interrupts this event
Read MoreUK, 1879—when matters become difficult or serious—of obscure origin—perhaps originally in reference to a music-hall song of that title, interpreted from 1870 onwards by Annie Adams
Read Moreearly 1930s—in an anti-climactic, disappointing way (used of something that comes to an end)—alludes to the last line of The Hollow Men (1925), by T. S. Eliot
Read MoreUK, 1886—those in charge of an organisation, project or initiative lack the fundamental qualities needed to fulfil their responsibilities
Read Morehumorous variant of ‘one man’s meat is another man’s poison’—Australia, 1872—used in particular of the opposition between flesh-eating and fish-eating in relation to the religious observance of fasting
Read MoreUK, 1810—tenacious, persistent, obstinate—unwilling to yield, to relent or to let go—unable to set aside a preoccupation or obsession—the image is that a dog with a bone will not let go of that bone, no matter what
Read MoreUSA, 1834—a member of a group, organisation, etc., who is so familiar as to be regarded as a permanent feature, and therefore often taken for granted
Read Morethe practice of reducing a product’s amount or volume per unit while continuing to offer it at the same price—blend of ‘shrink’ and ‘inflation’—2014—apparently coined by Pippa Malmgren
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literally (UK, 1876): a victory in a tennis match, secured by winning the deciding game of the last set required to win—in extended use (UK, 1906): a complete and decisive victory
Read Morea very radical, extreme or fanatical left-wing faction within a political party or the political spectrum—USA, 1945, as ‘loony leftists’
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word histories 